Most mobile device operations require that a user view a device display. For some operations, such as text messaging and e-mailing, repetitive or prolonged viewing is common. As the medical community is learning, such repetitive or prolonged viewing can lead to both temporary and long term harmful health effects. In particular, medical professionals are becoming increasingly aware of the widespread occurrence negative spine related conditions, including cervical spine deformation and related muscle, nerve and joint irritation, due to such prolonged and repetitive viewing. Such issues are particularly prevalent in children, who are spending more and more time using such devices. The problem is not caused by the device operation being performed, but by the user's habitual poor posture (e.g., forward head tilt) while performing texting, emailing and other such operations, with the device.
User interfaces vary from device to device. For example, devices may incorporate alphanumeric keypads, QWERTY keyboards and/or touch displays having a soft key keyboard. Regardless of the type of interface, device users can easily avoid the aforementioned posture issues by simply maintaining the device within a particular orientation while performing data entry operations. Unfortunately, most users fail to recognize when the device is being held at an angle outside of an acceptable range.
Accordingly, the need clearly exists for a way to ensure that portable mobile device users are always cognizant of whether or not they are holding the device in a non-harmful orientation during texting, emailing and other such operations. It would be beneficial to provide such means integrated into the device itself to clearly indicate to a user whether a device is, in fact, being held in manner facilitating good posture.